Winged Cupid Painted Blind
by Katia Dashwood
Summary: Shakespeare once said 'And therefore is winged cupid painted blind.' But my belief is that Cupid is not blind: he's deaf. Surely, that is the only explanation for me falling in love with Draco Malfoy, and certainly the reason he fell for me. HGDM
1. Continued Conflict

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter.

Shakespeare once said 'And therefore is winged cupid painted blind.' But my belief is that Cupid is not blind: he's deaf. Surely, that is the only explanation for me falling in love with Draco Malfoy, and _certainly_ the reason he fell for me. Everyone else heard Draco calling me a Mudblood from second year forward. Not Cupid. Everyone else heard the smack of my hand across Draco's perfect, pale face in third year. Well, alright, only Harry, Ron, Crabbe, and Goyle. But still...

Everyone must have heard Draco's howls of laughter when he made my teeth grow and didn't get in trouble afterwards. Not Cupid. Draco was just as foul fifth and sixth years, and he even referred to me as the Mudblood in front of Dumbledore.

Cupid also missed all the times I called Draco a git, which is far too many for me to number, though Draco claims it is over a thousand and counting. Arrogant git.

I almost had a heart attack when Draco was allowed to return to Hogwarts seventh year. At the time, I thought the only positive aspect of the situation was that I was able to convince Harry that if we went back to school instead of gallivanting all over the world for Horcruxes, we would be able to keep a better eye on Draco. The first week of school, well, the first day actually, on the Hogwarts Express I literally ran into Draco. He started to spit out the word 'Mudblood,' but then a pained expression crossed his face and instead he shouted, 'Mud-Granger, watch where you're going!'

Then he looked away, embarrassed or something. He had listened to Dumbledore and wasn't using the word Mudblood anymore. I was immediately interested, not in him, but in where his loyalties lay and if he could be persuaded to join the right side.

I greeted him civilly when I passed him on my way to the Great Hall. He told me to bugger off. I didn't bother greeting him politely anymore. I didn't hold Ron and Harry back from verbally assaulting him either.

He was an outcast. Even most Slytherins were shunning him, not because they particularly liked Dumbledore, but because Draco couldn't manage to actually follow through and kill him. Draco would; therefore, usually end up in the library. After a few weeks, we began begrudgingly acknowledging each other's presences. I was still irritated with him though.

Sometime in October, Draco came over to the table at which I always studied in the library.

'Can I borrow this book, Granger?' he asked, sneering.

'Yes, I suppose you _can_' I said, glaring back.

He got the point, I think, because I could've sworn I heard him chuckle on his way back to his seat.

After that, I would say, 'Malfoy,' when he came up to his table and he would nod his head in my direction and say, 'Granger.'

The real trouble began when we inadvertently greeted each other thus before dinner one night in November, as everyone was pouring into the Great Hall. All near enough to hear went silent for a second before whispering excitedly to each other. Harry told me that I was brilliant to have finally forced Draco to be polite. I think he saw it more as a miracle, though, than as an example of my social prowess. Ron told me I was just plain crazy: you can see why _that_ relationship never worked. And Ginny, well, she didn't say anything, she just looked at me curiously.

Since the whole school had found out about the polite acknowledgement business, we silently decided that it was pointless to study at separate tables. To save time walking between tables to borrow books, I told myself at the time. Sometimes we talked about an assignment or that day's lessons, but more often than not, we didn't speak at all.

One day, Draco sat down at the table with dark circles under his eyes, hair rumpled as if he had just got out of bed.

'You alright?' I asked anxiously, before realising he would probably snap at me.

'You have no idea,' he muttered, opening a book.

'Enlighten me, then,' I told him.

He regarded me incredulously before bolting from the library. I followed him, finally catching up a few corridors down in a secret passageway.

'Go away, Granger,' he said.

'No,' I refused. 'I'm not leaving until you tell me why you're _not_ alright.'

He spun around to face me. 'My mother might be killed,' he said, daring me with his eyes to laugh.

'Because of Voldemort again?'

Draco winced at the sound of the name. 'Yes,' he said. 'And the last thing you need is to get mixed up in my screwed up, shadow-of-a-life, so GO AWAY!'

'How come you never took up Dumbledore's offer?' I demanded.

'You don't understand,' he sneered. 'McGonagall would never take me in like that.'

'Yes, she would,' I said. 'And she _will_, if you only say the word.'

'I don't want your pity or your charity, Granger,' he declared.

'This isn't either,' I shot back. 'I don't want anyone to suffer because of Voldemort. And I don't see why your mother, of all people, should be killed because Voldemort is still mad at her husband and sister.' I paused. 'Or why you should be forced into anything you don't wish to do.'

'I can't _lie_ to the Dark Lord,' Draco hissed. 'Putting my mother into hiding would become common knowledge to him.'

'He wouldn't have to know. What if your mother were kidnapped?' I asked, stepping closer to him. 'What if she had vanished without a trace and you didn't know who took her or where she was?'

'Granger, kidnapping someone is _illegal_, and, in case you didn't know, one would be hard-put to take my mother anywhere without her consent.'

'Just leave all of it to chance,' I said vaguely. 'Just let me know if you ever want to join our side.' I turned and had almost made it to the tapestry hiding the passageway when he called my name.

'Granger!'

I turned back to face him and strode back.

'I don't need any time to consider. I'm joining the right side,' he said in a low, steady voice. 'In a purely basic sense. I'm not all that great of an Occlumens. You all protect me; I'll not be a bloody spy unless McGonagall absolutely requires it.'

'Come with me,' I said. 'We can talk to her right now.'

'I'll meet you there. No way I'm getting caught with _you_ in the hallway,' he refused.

'Fine,' I said evenly. 'The password is Ginger snap.'

He showed up ten minutes later than I did and managed to be somewhat belligerent throughout the interview. He professed his willingness to fight with us when the time came and was told that Harry and Ron would be the only of our generation to know of his realigned loyalties.

Honestly, he was such a pain to be around in the days following that meeting. All because I had seen him in a moment of weakness and saved him from following the Dark side he worked extra hard to irritate me to prove he still had 'it.' Whatever 'it' was. He's never been quite clear on that point.


	2. Truce and Something More

DISCLAIMER: I don't own Harry Potter

Tonks was the one who actually 'kidnapped' Narcissa, since she _was_ her niece. Narcissa wasn't too keen on the idea (read: nearly killed Tonks) until she was made aware that she would not be against her son.

I clearly remember the morning _The Daily Prophet_ reported that Narcissa had been, 'abducted by wizard or wizards unknown.'

I was on my way to breakfast, half-awake, when I was ambushed in a secret passageway. Draco had caught me up in his arms and was holding me tightly. I couldn't help but squeeze him back.

'Thank you, Granger,' he said into my hair, before realising it was me he was embracing fiercely, at which point he let me go as he had been burnt.

'You're welcome,' I said, as we both tried to hide our confusion.

'Right, well, Mother is taken care of now,' he told me, avoiding eye contact. 'Thought you'd like to know before everyone finds out from the Daily Prophet.'

I nodded and followed him to breakfast at a distance.

Later that week, we got into a debate in the library, which isn't the best place for that sort of thing.

'You can't add an anti-clockwise stir there,' Draco protested as we hunched over a recipe in a book lying on the table between us. Our heads were almost but not quite knocking across the table as we hissed arguments back and forth.

'It smoothes the consistency of the potion,' I defended. 'If you just stir clockwise then there are traces of salamander blood which remain separate from the rest of the mixture.'

'But the _directions_, in a book that's several hundred years old and reputable say "clockwise, three times."'

'But the directions are more like _guidelines_,' I pointed out. 'The fact that the recipe hasn't changed since this version of the text only means nobody has been creative enough to experiment. And I'm telling you, it _would_ work!'

'If it would work and work better, Snape would've taught us your way.'

Madam Pince came bustling over to us. 'Take your lovers' spat outside,' she shooed.

I loaded my books into my bag before she could send them banging against my head after me, and I scurried out of the library.

'Snape couldn't teach us with the improved recipe, because very likely it isn't _Ministry approved_,' I argued as Draco joined me in the corridor.

'So, you're suggesting I do something illegal?'

'I'm suggesting making a beneficial amendment to the potion that would increase its efficacy,' I told him. 'Exemplary Potions Masters, such as Snape, probably do it already.'

'But if _we_ used it in class, we'd be in trouble.'

'No,' I said. 'Harry didn't use the directions written in the textbook last year and Slughorn thought he was doing it exactly correct.'

'So I could do as you suggest and be praised?'

'Well, I doubt Slughorn would praise you, because he doesn't think you'll go far in society.'

'I am a _Malfoy_,' he said haughtily. 'I _will_ go far.'

I raised an eyebrow at him. 'Malfoy is synonymous with evil nowadays, in case you hadn't noticed,' I said. 'Your father's a Death Eater. You're a Death Eater ...even if not in spirit...'

'It's cold out here,' Draco said suddenly, avoiding the topic then at hand.

I produced a jar of bluebell flames, placed it on a bench, and sat down next to it.

'You're mental,' he muttered, but took a seat on the other side of the jar anyway.

'Are you going home for the holidays?' I asked him.

'Yes,' Draco answered, emotionless. 'Are you?'

'I'm going to the Burrow,' I told him.

'Don't your parents mind?'

I shrugged. 'I went home last year for the first time in years and they weren't all that enthused. I think they suspect I'm involved in something and don't want to know for sure.'

Draco raised an eyebrow inquiringly.

'If they don't know anything, they can't be tortured into giving information that would get me hurt,' I explained. 'My parents are very nice and I love them, but... Well, we just aren't best friends.'

'Er- I know this is going to come out all wrong, but - they're Muggles. They just can't understand our world,' he said matter-of-factly.

I was surprised to find that I agreed with him. 'That's true,' I conceded. 'They understand a lot of things, but not how the wizarding world works.'

'Like prejudice over blood, over lineage?' Draco asked cautiously.

'Perhaps not so precisely, but that's the way it used to be in the Muggle world, but over skin colour,' I said. 'Blood's more complicated, but carries the same basic concept. Both are prejudices over a factor beyond an individual's control and wholly unrelated to an individual's character.'

'I never really thought about why I hated Muggles and Muggleborns,' Draco said, 'until the night Dumbledore died. I started wondering why I held such a deep hatred for Muggleborns: about why they're different from Purebloods. And then it hit me. The only difference is who their ancestors were. We're all human, we all possess magical abilities.'

'And that's why you've decided you can be seen with me now?'

'Yes,' he answered quietly. He picked up the jar of fire. 'Let's go inside.'

'But we got kicked out of the library,' I reminded him.

'Come on, Granger, you're Head Girl, I'm feared by three quarters of the student body. No one will tattle on us for going up to the seventh floor corridor,' he wheedled.

I don't know what impulse I followed that afternoon, but I went with Draco to the Room of Requirement. We didn't even have to try to make the door appear; it just did. But one thing I do know is that neither of us could have guessed what the interior of the room would look like.

I went in first and Draco came in after me. The only lighting was from candelabra set on a low table, which also held a tray with tea and biscuits. The table and a worn but comfortable-looking sofa were before a crackling fire.

I walked over to the sofa and sat down, looking across the room at Draco. After catching his gaze, I became cognisant of the fact that we were alone, together, in a room that no on else could get into, with the lights down low. Oh, the number of things that could be read into that situation. Even then that thought did not escape me. For the first time, I felt self-conscious in front of him.

'Didn't realise I wanted tea so much,' he said lightly, seating himself on the sofa a bit over from where I was sitting. He started to pour out tea for each of us.

_I don't think tea is really what this is about_ I thought, and I could tell that he was thinking the same thing.

I took the cup he handed me, willing my hands not to shake as I raised the cup to drink. After a few minutes of incredibly awkward silence, I put my tea down and reached for a biscuit. Draco did so at the same time and our hands touched. Instead of jerking way, I reached towards him. He took my hand in his. Both of us had forgotten the biscuits by then.

'Hermione,' he said, the first time he had addressed me by my first name.

'Draco...' My heart was beating what felt like a hundred times faster than normal and my mouth went dry as he gravitated closer to me on the sofa.

'I - '

For once, he was speechless.

I hadn't a clue what to say either so I took a chance and, before I lost my nerve, kissed him. He kissed me back before drawing away. That kiss may have been short, but; however cliché it may seem, I felt like part of my life had slid into the right place. Or maybe that was relief that he hadn't pushed me away from him. Or both.

He looked down at our joined hands and then up again.

'We're really in for it now,' he said. 'The single thing more dangerous than Death Eater or best friend to Harry Potter...'

I nodded and laced my fingers through his, finding reassurance on his gentle grip.

'One more thing to conceal,' I said.

'Are you sure about this, though?' Draco asked, his cool grey eyes searching mine. 'If I can't trick the Dark Lord, I don't know what they'll do to you.'

'I'm sure,' I told him. 'You're worth the risk and I'd rather the danger than wondering what might have been.'

He leaned back into the sofa, as did I beside him, resting my head on his shoulder. We stayed like that; quiet, for a little while. Then we realised there were only ten minutes left until Potions, frantically slung bags onto our shoulders, and raced out of the room. I flung myself hurriedly into my seat at the table with Ron, Harry, and Ernie just before the late bell sounded.

Draco was less fortunate and Slughorn took away five points from his own house for Draco's miniscule tardiness.

'Granger,' Draco said mockingly as he passed me into the Great Hall later.

'Malfoy,' I replied haughtily.

'_He_ looks rather smug about something,' Ron said as we sat down with Harry.

'I heard you two got kicked out of the library today for arguing,' Harry said to me. 'Is he getting up to something?' He lowered his voice. 'I mean, since we helped his mum I thought you've been on pretty good terms.'

'He's not planning anything,' I dismissed the idea. 'Whatever he's pleased about is relatively innocuous.'

'He did nearly as well as you did in Potions today,' Harry continued. Harry had decided to never use Snape's Potions textbook, though it was locked safely in his trunk just in case.

'Imagine that,' I said. 'I guess he decided my idea would work after all.'

'Idea?' Ron blurted out. 'You didn't tell _us_.'

'Relax, Ron. I didn't have time to tell you. It's just to add an anti-clockwise stir after all the clockwise ones to even the consistency. Nothing terribly ground breaking.'

'Did you get that from Snape's book?' Harry demanded, startled.

'No,' I said patiently. 'I thought it up myself. That's what Malfoy and I were arguing about in the library.'

'Where'd you go when you got kicked out? You were barely on time to Potions.'

'Courtyard, then inside.'

'_With_ Malfoy?'

'Ronald, he's not horrible,' I berated him quietly. 'Remember, he's on _our_ side now.'

As dinner was winding down, I heard a cool voice from behind us.

'Can I have I word?'

Ron glared at Draco as I followed him to the side of the room. I regarded him expectantly.

'Look, Granger,' he said nonchalantly, as people were everywhere around us. 'I can't abide the thought of patrolling with Pansy tonight. Can you find me another partner?'

_This has to be _the_ weirdest way to ask to spend time with someone_ I thought.

'You'll have to work with me instead,' I told him.

'At least you don't simper,' he replied levelly.

'Ten o'clock, at the top of the Great Staircase. Have Pansy meet Harry in front of the Great Hall.'

Harry, our own Head Boy, by the way, was none too pleased about this arrangement and made me promise not to make a habit of letting Draco escape the torture of Pansy's presence.

Draco and I started our patrol officially in the dungeons and worked out way up, floor by floor. When we were finished, he insisted upon seeing me safely to the corridor that led to Gryffindor Tower.

He kissed me softly on the lips and tucked a lock of hair behind my ear.

'Good night, Hermione,' he told me, smiling.

'Good night, Draco,' I said. I smiled at him briefly before dashing off to the portrait hole.

After that, we kept meeting in secret, sometimes just slipping away to the Room of Requirement, other times rearranging the patrolling schedules in ways that disgruntled probably everyone but ourselves. I'm surprised no one noticed that the one constant in these changes was that Draco and I would patrol together. It was blatantly obvious in my opinion. But then again, everyone else was more worried about the possibility of being stuck with Pansy.


	3. Discovery

During the Christmas holiday, I heard Mr. Weasley telling Mrs. Weasley about a meeting for the Order of the Phoenix, which would be the first we would be permitted to attend. She was furious, but Mr. Weasley said mildly that if Draco was going, so could we. Did I mention that I was using Extendable Ears at that time? I reeled them in quicker than a wink, just as Mrs. Weasley shouted for Harry, Ron, and I to come downstairs.

'You three are allowed to come to the meeting tonight,' she said, almost daring us not to.

'Er, Mum, I thought –' Ron stuttered. Harry elbowed him.

'Thanks, Mrs. Weasley,' he said. Both he and Ron hugged her.

'Off with you now,' she said. 'And make sure you're neat and ready to go by seven.'

Ginny howled for about twenty minutes when she found out that we were going. Not crying; that is, yelling. I decided to tame my hair into a semblance of neatness while she took out her rage on the garden gnomes outside.

At seven-fifteen, we were seated at the dining room table of Number Twelve, Grimmauld Place with the other members of the Order. I had the good fortune to get the chair next to Draco, not that anyone else particularly wanted that seat anyway. The meeting progressed smoothly for about twenty minutes, when a voice sounded at the doorway.

'My apologies, I was detained,' it drawled. I whipped my head around and my eyes confirmed what my ears had supposed. There stood Professor Snape. To my immense surprise, Harry and Ron did not shout at him or even stand as Snape sneered at us.

'Well, well, if it isn't Potter and his two lackeys,' he said softly. 'Have you paid any attention to what I told you, Potter?'

'I think you know the answer to _that_, sir,' Harry said calmly while Snape's eyes bored into his, trying to use Legilimency against him.

'Very good, Potter,' Snape said, though the way in which he conceded this praise embittered its reception.

All in all, Draco was the one who seemed most disturbed by Snape's presence. He turned paper white when Snape walked into the room, and before he could regain his composure Snape sent a penetrating stare our way. I felt, not for the first time, thankful that I had insisted Ron and I studied Occlumency in addition to Harry.

In the din of everyone leaving the room after the meeting, Draco slipped a note into the pocket of my robes. I read it after I had answered all of Ginny's questions concerning the meeting, excluding divulgence of Snape's attendance.

_Hermione_

_I thought about you today. And everyday since holidays began. I can't believe I just wrote something that clichéd… Anyhow… I've been considering what you said about that potion recipe, how the directions are more like guidelines. The Order sort of follows that motto. It makes beneficial amendments to the rules/laws to keep goodness and fairness alive. I've also been thinking about all the random, and some might say useless, pieces of information you have stored in your brain and spout off obnoxiously during class. Not that _you_ are obnoxious. Just the spouting is. In a cute sort of way. _

_I miss you._

After the holidays, Draco and I met up at the Room of Requirement. That room was always slightly different, but there was always a sofa in front of a cosy fire.

Draco wrapped his arms around me and I embraced him back, breathing in deeply, my face buried in his robes.

'I missed you too,' I told him, pulling back.

He looked happy to see me, but anxious about something else.

'I'm worried about Snape.'

I snuggled next to him on the sofa, waiting to hear the rest of the explanation.

'I think he knows. About us.'

I sat bolt upright. 'But how could he? I know he can't get past _your_ Occlumency and mine is good.'

'I don't think he needed Legilimency,' Draco said. 'I think it's just one of his whims. He dropped anvil-sized hints when he spoke to me after the meeting.'

'But he'll keep our secret,' I said. 'He's in the Order, after all.'

'Is he _really_ on our side, though?'

'McGonagall wouldn't have let him back unless he had rock-solid proof of his unswerving allegiance to the right side.'

Draco tightened his arm around my shoulders. 'If I lost you, I'd lose my only friend,' he told me. 'I need you.'

I swung myself onto his lap so I could converse with him more easily. 'Draco, you aren't going to lose me. They'd be crazy –' Draco raised an eyebrow. '- _crazier _than they already are, in order to kidnap me. If Voldemort wanted to kidnap me, he would have done it or tried to do it a long time ago.'

'So you trust _Snape_? After what he has done?'

'You haven't been such a saint yourself,' I teased, lacing my fingers through his. 'Yes, I trust him. Not as entirely as I've come to trust _you_, but I trust that he's loyal to the Order.'

'Hmph,' Draco breathed out, smirking despite himself, obviously just realising where I was sitting. Upon this moment, he snaked his free hand around to the small of my back and kissed me passionately, to which I responded with equal fervour.

Draco looked especially smug at dinner again, making the boys suspicious.

'_I_ bet he's got a girlfriend,' Ginny hypothesised, before continuing over to Ravenclaw to talk to Luna.

'Doubtful,' Ron said.

'Does he, Hermione?' Harry asked.

'It seems that way,' I answered, hoping I wasn't blushing. 'It's probably a secret, so don't even try to coax me into asking him.'

'Speaking of secrets, where've _you_ been sneaking off to?'

'None of your business, Ron,' I said, positive I was blushing this time.

'Boyfriend?' Harry asked, grinning. 'Go on, who is he?'

'You'll find out sometime,' I said vaguely.

'Who could it be?' Ron said thickly, through a mouthful of bread.

I felt very lucky Ginny wasn't there. She would have put two and two together right away.

It turned out I needn't have felt so relieved, because Ginny cornered me later in the common room.

'Why didn't you tell me?'

'Tell you what?' I asked, thoroughly confused since my thoughts were on my Potions essay.

'That you're going out with Draco Malfoy,' she whispered.

'Am not.' Ginny saw right through me of course and merely raised an eyebrow imperiously. 'Alright, alright. Yes, I am.'

'For how long?'

'About two months now.'

'Two months?!'

'Shh!'

'I'm truly impressed,' Ginny told me. 'You not only got one of the _most_ attractive guys in the school, you've managed to keep your relationship under wraps, even from your best friend, moi.'

'Don't tell _anyone_,' I ordered her. 'It's bad enough _you_ found out about it.'

'My lips are sealed.'


	4. March Third and Quidditech

Ginny turned out to be a very valuable ally. She sometimes thought up better ways for Draco and I to meet in secret than I could have devised myself. And I'm betting she knew from practice, considering how long she and Dean kept their relationship hidden.

On Valentine's Day, Draco gave me a bouquet of jasmine and wild roses. I do not know how he managed to get any of them while at school, but it was very sweet of him. Some people will read that and groan, but Draco really is sweet, usually just in his own way…

On March third, I witnessed for the first time Draco being called to a meeting of the Death Eaters. He grabbed his forearm as if he were on fire and hurried from the corridor we were patrolling. I was rather shaken and couldn't sleep that night. Sure, I had seen him the day after a meeting, but I had never known about a meeting beforehand.

When I saw him the next morning, I breathed a sigh of relief and met him in the library during free period.

'Why're you so bloody happy?' he grumbled, obviously operating on even fewer hours of sleep than I was.

'I'm just glad there wasn't any violence yesterday,' I answered.

'Well, you can stop grinning,' he drawled through gritted teeth.

'Make me,' I replied flippantly, not grasping the situation.

'There _was_ violence yesterday,' he said quietly. 'And as if I'm crude enough to _make_ you do anything…'

My eyebrows shot up in alarm.

'Did you get treated?' I asked in a barely audible voice.

'No. Madam Pomfrey doesn't know I'm a Death Eater spy.'

I rose from my seat, disappearing as quick as a wink, knowing Draco would follow me to the Room of Requirement.

In the Room, there was a barrage of healing manuals.

'Where's the wound?'

'My back,' he said. 'Hurts like hell every time I move.'

'Take your shirt off, then.'

He pulled his shirt off over his head and smirked under my gaze before kissing me softly.

I pushed him slightly away with my fingertips, knowing that if I used my whole hand, the plans of healing would go by the wayside. He faced away from me.

There were many long, raw burns across his smooth skin. I opened the top book and studied it, applying the various salves and charms that the book recommended. After few minutes of Draco hissing under his breath and wincing, the burns faded away and only faint lines remained.

'You've still got light scars,' I told him, tracing the lines with my index finger.

'I don't look at my back,' he said, getting off the stool he had been sitting on. 'Though I'm sure you'll tell me if those scars ever disappear.'

He pulled me to him, hands on my waist. I put my hands on his nicely toned abs, planning to nudge him away, but I ended up meeting his kiss instead. When we broke apart, breathless, I slipped out of his arms.

'We really need to get to class,' I said, tossing him his shirt. 'And you _really_ need to put that shirt back on.'

I loved watching Draco in the spring Quidditich matches. His hair ruffled in the breeze and every move of his was graceful. I also loved teasing him before he played against Gryffindor. Never afterwards though. That would've been too cruel. Who am I kidding? Of course I teased him afterwards.

'What are _you_ smiling at?' he scowled as he walked past the boulder I was perched on. I hopped down and fell into step with him.

'You,' I said, smiling all the more.

'Shouldn't you be off, celebrating Harry's _surprise_ catch of the snitch and the Quidditch Cup?' he drawled.

'I'd rather celebrate with you,' I told him.

'You're mental. I'm not celebrating at all.'

'Oh, I think watching you sulk is rather entertaining,' I teased. 'And the boys won't be back from Hogsmeade for another couple of hours…' I covered my mouth with my hands as Draco turned in amazement.

'They're sneaking off to Hogsmeade, to the pub, I presume, and you aren't telling McGonagall?!'

'Oh, they're not drinking there. They're bringing back Butterbeer and sweets for everyone,' I said breezily.

'How do they get out?' he demanded.

'Magic,' I said. He glared at me.

'A secret passageway,' I added. He looked truly gobsmacked at that point.

'So, want to go to the Room of Requirement?' I asked, dropping my voice.

'I need a shower first,' he pointed out bluntly. But I could tell the temptation of being alone with me was overriding his bad mood and disappointment at the outcome of the match.

'Meet you in half an hour?'

'Alright,' I said. 'See you.' We split off in separate directions when we reached the Entrance Hall.

A fresh smelling Draco arrived in the Room of Requirement just after I did.

He came up behind me and wrapped his arms around my waist, holding me close.

'School's out in a month,' he mentioned quietly. I twisted in his arms to face him and wound my arms around his neck.

'I know,' I said, leaning closer to him.

'And the war – ' he broke off. 'Hermione, I love you very much…' I smiled. He had never spoken those words, though I knew he loved me anyway.

''Mione, if we win – '

' – when,' I said firmly.

' – when. When we win, when the war is over, will you marry me?' he asked, his cool gray eyes searching mine.

'Of course,' I said, smiling up at him. He smiled back and his whole face glowed with delight.

'I don't know what I will have, if my father can alter his will and disinherit me, but I know I can find work,' he said earnestly.

'I'll be working too. And I'm sure you can find one, with ease,' I said. 'As long as you aren't too sarcastic at your interview.'

'But I don't have to cross that bridge just yet,' he said, walking backwards to the couch.

'Damn,' Draco muttered as he collapsed onto the couch, pulling me down with him.

'What?'

'I haven't got an engagement ring for you,' he said, annoyed with himself.

'That's alright,' I told him. 'I wouldn't be able to wear it until goodness-knows-when anyhow. Besides, I've got all I want, right where I want it.'

Draco raised an eyebrow. 'I'm assuming that it's me you're referring to.'

'Naturally,' I responded.

'You're just where I want you too,' he said.

'In your lap?' I smirked.

'Lap, life, it's all the same, really,' he replied with a smirk of his own.

We met the next morning after breakfast in the Room of Requirement.

Draco smiled at me as I came in the door, but just as he leaned in to kiss me, Voldemort called him. He winced, clutching his arm as I tumbled onto the floor. He ran out of the room and I scarcely had time to be nervous before a silvery tabby Patronus with spectacle markings around its eyes appeared in front of me to deliver a message.

_He is approaching. Come to the Entrance Hall._

I plunged my hand inside my robes and withdrew my wand as I sprinted down the corridor.


	5. The Hospital Wing and a Ring

That battle lasted for hours. We suffered some losses. They will be sorely missed, but they died defending a cause in which they deeply believed. The battlefield is not a place for celebration, so the tone afterwards was sombre as we walked among the corpses. For the moment in which you rejoice is a moment of opportunity for a hidden foe to attack you. Five Death Eaters were captured after the battle had been ended for hours.

The first time I saw Draco after the war was ended was in the hospital wing.

'Lie down, Mr. Malfoy!' Madam Pomfrey was ordering him. 'You must lie still. If you don't I will have to give you a sleeping draught.'

I sneaked over by Madam Pomfrey, my broken arm in a sling. I winced as I moved, because I had also cracked some ribs. Mine was not a potentially fatal injury; I would be tended to after the others were out of immediate danger.

'Miss Granger, go sit down, you're jarring your arm.'

'Let her stay,' Draco demanded hoarsely.

Madam Pomfrey sighed.

'Ten minutes,' she allowed and hurried away.

I gasped when I went through the curtain around his bed. His face was paper white and even his lips were pale.

'I've lost a lot of blood,' he said, grimacing. 'Madam Pomfrey will set me right though. I just drank my blood-replenishing potion.'

'You look like you're in a lot of pain,' I said to him, worried. 'Where were you bleeding?'

'All over my chest,' he said, indicating in sweeping motions with his hands, which he dropped back onto the bed. 'I tried to find you, but Madam Pomfrey has been vigilant in her watch.'

He jerked his head at my left arm.

'Broken?'

'Yes. And I broke a few ribs too. Madam Pomfrey will mend me when all of you are out of immediate danger.'

'I'm not in danger,' Draco scoffed.

'You are so. You're anaemic and weak.'

'I'm not weak,' he objected obstinately.

'Draco, you can't even hold your arms up for a minute. Your body _is_ weak right now.'

I lay my hand on his and sat on the edge of the bed.

'How did you incur these wounds, by the way?'

'My glorious war story,' he grinned. 'Actually, it's not that interesting. I was duelling with Nott senior, and got rid of him. Some little time after that, I felt that the front of my robes was wet. I thought it was sweat and kept on fighting. Near the end of the battle, I got a wave of light-headedness. I thought it was from the heat so I removed my robes and was going to unbutton the first few buttons of my shirt. I felt wetness again, and this time I saw my hand was stained with blood. Not being one to panic unduly, I kept my ground until the Dark Lord was killed and at that point ran here. And collapsed upon entry,' he added sheepishly. 'What's your story?'

'I was thrown back by a shielding charm and I ricocheted off of the wall. No thrilling story for me either.'

I brushed his hair from his eyes and leant over to kiss him.

'Ten minutes are up,' Madam Pomfrey announced, bustling inside the curtain that surrounded Draco's bed. I snapped up and off the bed.

'Miss Granger!' she admonished. 'Stop jumping about like that. You're hurting your arm further. Go and sit outside.'

'Please, can't she stay in here with me?' Draco pleaded.

'Alright,' she consented after a moment. She handed him another dose of blood-replenishing potion. 'Drink up.'

She turned to me and gave me a stern look before leaving. The curtain fluttered shut behind her.

I took Draco's hand again.

'How is everyone else?' he asked.

'Mostly alright. Harry and Ron just have minor scratches. Neville broke his ankle, but Madam Pomfrey fixed it straightaway because he was nearly passing out from the pain.' I told him who had died. He looked taken aback when he heard Snape's name.

'He's _dead_?' Draco repeated. 'My mother… She trusted him more than anyone else.'

'Draco,' I said, laying my hand on his arm. 'He – there was a letter, addressed to you, found in his pocket.'

I pulled the sealed envelope from my robes.

'Open it for me?'

I broke the seal and withdrew from the envelope a folded sheet of parchment. I held it in front of his face for him to read. When he got to the end, he smiled.

'Read it,' he told me. When I got to the end, I saw why he had smiled.

_Don't let her get away_.

'As if I would screw up what we've got on purpose,' Draco said. 'No, sir,' he told the letter.

I slipped it into my pocket. He looked at me drowsily. Evidently, Madam Pomfrey had put something in the potion to make him sleep.

'I love you,' he said quietly.

I kissed him on the cheek. 'I love you too,' I told him.

I split my time between him and my other friends while he stayed in the hospital wing.

When Draco was all healed, and my arm had been long since fixed, about three weeks after the battle, he came and found me in the Great Hall during breakfast.

I jumped up to hug him when he sauntered over to the Gryffindor table. He held me tightly and kissed the top of my head before pulling back to kiss me properly.

'How on _Earth_ could this happen!' Ron asked abruptly after he had somewhat recovered from the shock.

Just about the entire Hall was staring at us by now. Draco took my hand in his.

'Does the how really mater?' I asked Ron, levelly in response.

Draco turned and glared at the rest of the Hall.

'You can return to your meals!' he bellowed at them.

I smiled at him fondly. I've come to find his idiosyncrasies, such as bellowing at all and sundry, quite endearing when they aren't hurtful.

'Have you eaten yet?' I asked him. He still looked more pale than usual. He shook his head.

'Will you eat with us?' I invited.

He regarded Harry and Ron warily. Harry moved his bag off the seat between him and me. Draco sat down, unsure of how to associate with my friends, whom he had so long disliked. Ginny came waltzing in soon after Draco had begun to eat.

'I see we have company,' she commented briskly, smiling. 'Hi, Draco.'

Ron looked at his sister as if she had sprouted a third arm.

'Hello, Ginny,' Draco replied.

Ginny glared at Ron and Harry.

'Come on, you two. You can't go on ignoring him'

While Ginny argued with Harry and Ron, Draco's eagle owl landed in front of him, a package tied to its leg.

'What is it?' I asked as he un-wrapped it. A black velvet box appeared behind the born paper. He opened it, taking out a ring. I held out my left hand and he slid the ring onto my finger, where the diamond sparkled and shone.

'I sent away to my mother's jeweller,' Draco said in a low voice. 'I told her about us.'

I smiled uncertainly at this news.

'She's impatient to meet you,' he said, smiling.

I let out the breath I had been holding.

'You want to come up the manor this weekend?' he asked.

'Sure,' I agreed, and kissed him.

Ron and Harry noticed this display of affection and then started gawping at my hand.

'We've been engaged since early on the day of the battle,' I told them, hoping they wouldn't make too big of a fuss.

Ron gagged on his pumpkin juice.

'For a whole month?' he spluttered.

'Yes,' Draco confirmed.

He smiled at me. I returned the smile and threading my fingers through his. Harry let his breath out in a whistle.

'You better treat her right,' he told Draco. 'Or I will hunt you down, kill you and make it look like an accident,' he added in a whisper.

'I will,' Draco answered paling a little bit. 'I love her.' And he kissed me again.

Maybe Cupid wasn't so mistaken after all…

FIN


End file.
